Box office report for Sept. 28, 2009
The animated movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” was still appetizing to movie-goers in its second week in theaters.
Over the weekend, the tasty 3-D adventure topped the box office for the second straight week with $24.6 million. Based on the famed children’s book, “Cloudy” follows the exploits of Flint Lockwood (voice of Tulsa native Bill Hader), a geeky aspiring inventor who devises a machine that turns water into food.
The Sony release raised its domestic haul to $60 million after 10 days in theaters, according to the Associated Press.
The sci-fi thriller “Surrogates,” based on the graphic novel and Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, debuted at No. 2 with $15 million. Set in a future in which people live in isolation and interact mostly through surrogate robots, the Disney release stars Bruce Willis as a cop forced to leave his home to investigate the murder of others’ surrogates.
“Pandorum,” another sci-fi thriller opening over the weekend didn’t fare as well. The film, which stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as two astronauts who awaken on a spaceship with no memory of their identities or mission, came in No. 6 with $4.4 million.
The weekend’s other new wide release, MGM’s new take on the 1980 musical hit “Fame,” opened in third place with $10 million. Oklahoma City-raised Megan Mullally plays one of the teachers in the film, set in a prestigious New York performing arts school.
According to the AP, Michael Moore’s new film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” opened strongly in limited release with a $240,000 weekend take in four theaters. The Overture Films release boosts its total to $306,586 since it debuted last Wednesday. It expands to theaters nationwide on Friday.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $24.6 million.
2. “Surrogates,” $15 million.
3. “Fame,” $10 million.
4. “The Informant!”, $6.9 million.
5. “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” $4.8 million.
6. “Pandorum,” $4.4 million.
7. “Love Happens,” $4.3 million.
8. “Jennifer’s Body,” $3.5 million.
9. “9,” $2.8 million.
10. “Inglourious Basterds,” $2.7 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Sept. 21, 2009
Good fortune rained down on the 3-D animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” which earned $30.1 million to top the weekend box office.
Sony’s family comedy was adapted from the popular 1978 children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett. It featured Tulsa native Bill Hader as the voice of the lead character, geeky inventor Flint Lockwood.
According to the Associated Press, the film’s success bodes well for another big-screen version of a classic children’s book: the long-awaited film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” The Spike Jonze-directed adaptation will be released Oct. 16.
Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!,” starring Matt Damon as an unreliable whistle blower, came in second with $10.5 million.
Among other wide releases, the romantic comedy “Love Happens” starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart came in fourth with $8.5 million. Apparently, moviegoers are weary of Aniston, rom coms or both. It’s Aniston’s third film this year, according to AP.
Megan Fox’s first headlining role wasn’t a supernatural success: “Jennifer’s Body,” an R-rated horror film starring the “Transformers” babe, was in fifth place with $6.8 million. It was written by Diablo Cody of “Juno” fame.
Last week’s No. 1 film, Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” saw a 57 percent drop in business for Lionsgate. But it still earned $10 million to land in third place. It also brought its cumulative take to $37.9 million.
The weekend’s total box-office gross was approximately $100 million, which compares favorably with the $88 million that was made on the corresponding weekend last year, according to the AP.
Here are the top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” $30.1 million.
2. “The Informant!” $10.5 million.
3. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” $10 million.
4. “Love Happens,” $8.5 million.
5. “Jennifer’s Body,” $6.8 million.
6. “9,” $5.5 million.
7. “Inglourious Basterds,” $3.6 million.
8. “All About Steve,” $3.4 million.
9. “Sorority Row,” $2.5 million.
10. “The Final Destination,” $2.4 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Sept. 14, 2009
Tyler Perrys latest comedy, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” opened at No. 1 over the weekend with $23.4 million.’
Of the eight films Perry has made as writer/director/actor, five have debuted at No. 1, according to the Associated Press.
Among the other new releases, the animated post-apocalyptic tale “9″ came in at No. 2 with $10.7 million. It opened last Wednesday — on 9-9-09 — and has made a total of more than $15 million.
Two other new releases notched mediocre openings: The slasher film “Sorority Row” debuted at No. 6, while Kate Beckinsale’s Antarctic whodunit “Whiteout” opened at No. 7.
Quentin Tarantino’s wonderful World War II epic “Inglourious Basterds” continued to perform well, coming in at No. 3 and crossing the $100 million mark.
Here are the top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” Lionsgate, $23,446,785, 2,255 locations, $10,398 average, $23,446,785, one week.
2. “9,” Focus Features, $10,740,446, 1,661 locations, $6,466 average, $15,160,926, one week.
3. “Inglourious Basterds,” Weinstein Co., $6,140,617, 3,215 locations, $1,910 average, $103,903,469, four weeks.
4. “All About Steve,” Fox, $5,638,243, 2,265 locations, $2,489 average, $21,650,628, two weeks.
5. “The Final Destination,” Warner Bros., $5,522,377, 2,732 locations, $2,021 average, $58,280,235, three weeks.
6. “Sorority Row,” Summit, $5,059,802, 2,665 locations, $1,899 average, $5,059,802, one week.
7. “Whiteout,” Warner Bros., $4,915,104, 2,745 locations, $1,791 average, $4,915,104, one week.
8. “District 9,” Sony, $3,538,769, 2,560 locations, $1,382 average, $108,456,233, five weeks.
9. “Gamer,” Lionsgate, $3,293,055, 2,502 locations, $1,316 average, $16,261,653, two weeks.
10. “Julie & Julia,” Sony, $3,156,316, 2,343 locations, $1,347 average, $85,216,398, six weeks.
-BAM
Box Office Report for Labor Day Weekend
Hey there loyal readers, 3D here with your box office report for the weekend. Unfortunately for the movie industry, the results were quite disappointing. Despite the influx of new films this weekend, the top ten movies together earned less than $100 million dollars and none of the new films was at the top of the list. That honor went to the newest installment in the “Final Destination” horror franchise, which continues to perform well in part because of its 3-D dollars.
Sandra Bullock’s new movie “All About Steve” came in at No. 3, which isn’t quite up to the level of her previous effort this year “The Proposal.” The new action movie “Gamer” also cracked the top five, while Mike Judge’s new workplace satire “Extract” looks like it is destined for cult status rather than box office glory since it opened at number nine.
Here are the top 10 movies for the holiday weekend, courtsey of IMDB:
1.) “The Final Destination” $15.3 million ($50.4 million)
2.) “Inglourious Basterds” $15.3 million ($95.1 million)
3.) “All About Steve” $14.1 million (New)
4.) ”Gamer” $11.2 (New)
5.) ”District 9″ $9.11 million ($103 million)
6.) “Julie & Julia” $7.08 million ($80.7 million)
7.) ”Halloween II” $6.87 million ($26.9 million)
8.) “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” $6.71 million ($141 million)
9.) “Extract” $5.51 million (New)
10.) “The Time Traveler’s Wife” $5.47 million ($55.8 million)
—3D
Box office report for the weekend of Aug. 28-30
It was a battle of horror sequels at the box office over the weekend, and “The Final Destination” emerged victorious.
“The Final Destination” opened as the No. 1 movie with $28.3 million, according to the Associated Press. The Warner Bros. release is the latest installment in a film franchise about people who stalked by death after a premonition saves them from their destined doom.
The weekend’s other horror sequel, Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II,” made the No. 3 spot with $17.4 million. It was the second film in Zombie’s update of the slasher franchise about the psychopathic Michael Myers. The sequel took in more than its $15 million production budget over opening weekend, according to the AP.
“The Final Destination” took over the top spot from Quentin Tarantino’s excellent World War II saga “Inglourious Basterds,” which slipped to second place with $20 million. The Weinstein Co. release raised its total to $73.8 million after 10 days in theaters, according to the AP.
It was a good weekend for the Weinsteins, who also released “Halloween II.”
The weekend’s other new wide release, Focus Features’ music romp “Taking Woodstock,” opened weakly in the No. 9 spot with $3.7 million. Directed by Ang Lee (”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”), “Taking Woodstock” is a nostalgic look behind the scenes at the huge landmark 1969 rock concert.
Though Hollywood’s summer season historically does not end until Labor Day, the holiday comes late this year, adding an extra week to the movie schedule and skewing comparisons to past summers.
Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian is using this Monday to mark the end of the season, since this weekend corresponded to Labor Day weekend last year. Dergarabedian estimated that through Monday, Hollywood will have taken in $4.26 billion, 1.5 percent ahead of the revenue record the industry set in summer 2008.
While receipts ran at an all-time high, attendance was off 2.2 percent compared with last summer factoring in this year’s higher ticket prices, he told the AP. Hollywood finished with an unusually strong lineup in August, typically a quiet time at the box office.
“August gave us the record,” Dergarabedian told the AP. “Virtually every summer crosses the finish line with a whimper. This year, we crossed with a bang.”
Here is the top 10 at the weekend box office, from the AP:
1. “The Final Destination,” $28.3 million.
2. “Inglourious Basterds,” $20 million.
3. “Halloween II,” $17.4 million.
4. “District 9,” $10.7 million.
5. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” $8 million.
6. “Julie & Julia,” $7.4 million.
7. “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” $6.7 million.
8. “Shorts,” $4.9 million.
9. “Taking Woodstock,” $3.7 million.
10. “G-Force,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
Box office report
Quentin Tarantino’s World War II drama “Inglourious Basterds” found glory at the box office over the weekend.
The film topped the charts with its $37.6 million debut, according to the Associated Press. The film made an additional $27.5 million in 22 countries, giving it a worldwide total of $65.1 million.
It was Tarantino’s best opening ever, topping the $25.1 million debut for 2004’s “Kill Bill – Vol. 2.” It was certainly well-deserved; I gave “Inglourious Basterds” four stars and highly recommend it.
Tarantino’s trademark bloody and darkly humorous epic opened opposite the latest family film from Robert Rodriguez, his longtime pal and frequent collaborator. (Their latest film project was 2007’s B-movie double-feature “Grindhouse.”)
Though their films were appealing to completely different audiences, Tarantino clearly won the day. Rodriguez’s “Shorts” opened at No. 6 with $6.6 million.
The weekend’s other new wide release, the comedy “Post Grad,” opened at No. 10 with a dismal $2.8 million, according to the AP.
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, “District 9,” dropped to No. 2 with $18.9 million. But that bring its domestic total to $73.5 million, putting the film well on its way to becoming a $100 million hit.
Here is the weekend’s top 10 films, from the AP:
1. “Inglourious Basterds,” $37.6 million.
2. “District 9,” $18.9 million.
3. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” $12.5 million.
4. “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” $10 million.
5. “Julie & Julia,” $9 million.
6. “Shorts,” $6.6 million.
7. “G-Force,” $4.2 million.
8. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” $3.5 million.
9. “The Ugly Truth,” $2.9 million.
10. “Post Grad,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
Box Office Report
Behold the power of the geeks! This week’s top movie, “District 9,” was made by a relatively unknown director, featured a no-name cast, cost only $30 million to make, and a couple of months ago it was tracking below people’s radar. Then came Comic-Con and suddenly “District 9″ was generating enough buzz to power a small city. It paid off this weekend, as the scifi allegory earned $37 million (more than the budget of the film) in its opening weekend to capture the top spot.
The other films opening this weekend had a more mixed reception. Fans of the acclaimed bestselling novel showed up to watch the movie version of “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” which debuted at number 3 with $19.2 million. However, the Jeremy Piven vehicle “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” bombed, coming in at number 6 with a little over $5 million. I think the lack of publicity for “Ponyo,” the Disney release by visionary Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki (best known in America for his masterpiece “Spirited Away”), may have hurt it since it debuted with only $3.51 million.
Here are the top ten grossers of this weekend according to the IMDB.
1.) “District 9″ $37 million (New)
2.) “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” $22.5 million ($98.8 million)
3.) ”The Time Traveler’s Wife” $19.2 million (New)
4.) “Julie & Julia” $12.4 million ($43.7 million)
5.) “G-Force” $6.91 million ($99 million)
6.) “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” $5.35 million (New)
7.) “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” $5.16 million ($284 million)
8.) “The Ugly Truth” $4.5 million ($77.5 million)
9.) “Ponyo” $3.51 million (New)
10.) “(500) Days of Summer” $3.02 million ($18 million)
—3D
Box office report
G.I. Joe proved a box-office hero over the weekend.
The Paramount movie based on the venerable Hasbro action figure line topped the weekend ox office with $56.2 million debut domestically, according to the Associated Press. “G.I. Joe” also made $44.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $100.5 million.
“G.I. Joe” follows Paramount’s “Transformers” sequel as the latest toy story to top the box-office charts.
After critics drubbed ”Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” earlier this summer, Paramount skipped critic screenings for “G.I. Joe” and put the movie in theaters sight-unseen by most reviewers.
Critics who went to see “G.I. Joe” after it opened gave it at best mixed reviews; many called it a mindless actioner but some found it fun and entertaining. You can read our own Matt Price’s review by clicking here.
The foodie’s delight ”Julie & Julia,” starring Meryl Streep as legendary chef Julia Child and Amy Adams as famed food blogger Julie Powell, opened with a tasty No. 2 with $20.1 million. “G.I. Joe” was a hit among young males, while women 35 and older were the main audience for “Julie & Julia,” according to the AP.
The film revitalized interest in Julia Child, who was also a hit on Amazon.com. According to the AP, ”Mastering the Art of French Cooking” was the Web site’s top seller Sunday, while Child’s memoir “My Life in France” was No. 9.
The other new wide release, Universal’s slasher thriller “A Perfect Getaway” with Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich, opened at No. 7 with just $5.8 million.
The previous weekend’s top movie, director Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” dropped to No. 5 with $7.9 million, down 65 percent from its opening weekend. The Universal release has taken in $40.4 million.
Despite the boost from “G.I. Joe,” summer revenues continue to lag behind last year’s, with receipts this season down about 1 percent, according to the AP.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 films, from the AP:
1. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” $56.2 million.
2. “Julie & Julia,” $20.1 million.
3. “G-Force,” $9.8 million.
4. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” $8.9 million.
5. “Funny People,” $7.9 million.
6. “The Ugly Truth,” $7 million.
7. “A Perfect Getaway,” $5.8 million.
8. “Aliens in the Attic,” $4 million.
9. “Orphan,” $3.73 million.
10. “500 Days of Summer,” $3.7 million.
-BAM
Box Office Report
In box office news this week, Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler’s joint venture “Funny People” put them both on top again. The counter-programing against all the family fare that is out right now may have helped propel the R-Rated film to success despite its garnering mixed reviews.
The other new movie this week was the kid’s film “Aliens in the Attic,” which only managed to make $7.8 million (putting it in fifth place). The new children’s film’s box office may have been hindered by the debut of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” in IMAX theaters.
Until this weekend, IMAX has been exclusively playing “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Many box office analysts had been predicting that the Potter film would get a boost in its numbers from people who have been waiting to see it in this format. Since it jumped back up past last week’s number one movie “G-Force,” it looks like they were right.
Here is a list of the top ten movies this weekend, courtesy of the IMDB:
1.) “Funny People” $23.4 million (New)
2.) “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” $17.7 million ($255 million)
3.) “G-Force” $17.1 million ($66.5 million)
4.) “The Ugly Truth” $13 million ($54.5 million)
5.) “Aliens in the Attic” $7.8 million (New)
6.) “Orphan” $7.25 million ($26.8 million)
7.) “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” $5.3 million ($182 million)
8.) “The Hangover” $5.08 million ($256 million)
9.) “The Proposal” $4.85 million ($149 million)
10.) “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” $4.6 million ($388 million)
—3D
“Harry Potter & Half-Blood Prince” falls to No. 2 at box office, opening in IMAX this week
“G-Force”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
The 3-D talking guinea pigs caper “G-Force” managed to out-duel the magical sixth Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” at the box office over the weekend.
According to the Associated Press, “G-Force,” a Disney film from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, opened with $32.2 million over the weekend.
“Half-Blood Prince” was a close second with $30 million. But that represented a surprisingly large 61 percent drop-off from its massive opening last weekend of $79.5 million, according to the AP.
The sixth installment in the Harry Potter series actually opened on Wednesday, July 15, with huge turnout at midnight screenings. It made $159.7 million, a franchise best, in its first five days, according to EW.com.
“Half-Blood Prince” has now made $222 million total, which is $14 million ahead of where the fifth film, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” was after 12 days in theaters in 2007, according to the AP. Passing the $200 million mark in less than two weeks is no small feat, even for the world’s most famous boy wizard.
The AP also notes that “Half-Blood Prince” is opening on 166 IMAX screens this week. The last “Harry Potter” movie showed in IMAX from the time it opened in theaters.
“So we’re coming in with this one (in IMAX) a little bit late, but it’s going to be a great addition and it’ll keep our momentum going,” Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.’ head of distribution, told the AP.
What the AP story doesn’t note is why “Half-Blood Prince” is just now making it to IMAX screens. Slashfilm.com reported earlier this summer that the IMAX release of “Half-Blood Prince” had to be pushed back two weeks because Paramount had inked a deal to give “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” an exclusive four-week run at IMAX.
“When Warner Bros moved the release of Half Blood Prince back to July 15th, they didn’t take into account Transformer’s IMAX exclusivity. So now Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince won’t be shown on IMAX screens until July 29th 2009, two weeks after its theatrical 35mm release. Will people wait to pay a premium price to see the few 3D sequences in the IMAX version?” Peter Sciretta pondered in the Slashfilm story.
He asks a good question, and I’m willing to bet that some Harry Potter fans rushed out last week to see the long-awaited film (remember, it was originally set for release in fall 2008) in 35 mm with plans to see it in IMAX a second time. That could account for a portion of the big drop-off for “Half-Blood Prince”; some diehards may be waiting for the IMAX release before taking their crucial second and third trips to see the film.
While Oklahoma City still doesn’t have an IMAX theater – which is an outrage that forces OKC cinephiles to go to Tulsa or Dallas to see large-scale versions of big movies – notching huge numbers in IMAX helped “The Dark Knight” and “Transformers 2″ reach their mega-blockbuster status. It will be interesting to see how Harry Potter’s IMAX predicament affects the box office totals for “Half-Blood Prince.”
I saw the sixth Harry Potter film during its opening weekend and was impressed and thoroughly entertained. The films have continued to improve throughout the series, especially under David Yates’ direction, though none of them can even touch the magic of J.K. Rowling’s amazing books.
“Half-Blood Prince” certainly didn’t deserve to come in second to a guinea pig spy flick that the Mouse House refused to screen in advance for critics in order to make a fast, dirty profit off of as many families as possible. I haven’t seen “G-Force,” so I can’t judge it too harshly, but it is depressing to see Disney once again mine the old, stale talking-animal tactic for quick cash.
The success of “G-Force” does illustrate a need for more family-friendly fare in theaters. The top two films this week are both rated PG. But they appeal to totally different segments of the PG audience.
With its more than 2 1/2-hour runtime – along with scary images, some violence and dramatic death scene – “Half-Blood Prince” is for tweens, teens and adult fans of the books. It isn’t for the preschool or early elementary set.
That’s precisely the pint-sized audience that “G-Force,” with its cute computer-generated guinea pig heroes, 90-minute runtime and mild action/rude humor PG rating, is targeting.
In the absence of something more creative, the film clearly hit the mark with parents desperate to give their kids something to do in the waning days of summer vacation.
-BAM
